Today, there are a number of methods and practices that offer to bio-remediate hydrocarbon-polluted sites and bodies. However, these methods typically only remove the polluting agent and move it to a different location.
Until now, the closest technique to this invention was based on sequestrants, flocculants, surfactants, etc., which extract the hydrocarbon-polluted bodies. However, these methods only move pollution to confinement sites and do not actually eliminate it.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,138 to Guymon describes a water/surfactant process for removing oil from a soil that has been contaminated by an oil spill. The process disclosed aims to overcome a problem of many prior methods, emulsion of the hydrocarbons with the wash water. The surfactant is selected from the group consisting of linear alcohols having eight to fifteen carbon atoms and two to eight ethylene oxide units on the carbon atoms. The amount of surfactant must be carefully monitored so as not to exceed 0.5% or an emulsion forms. However, the oil removed from the process is still present in a vessel and must be disposed of.
Standards require that a bio-recovered site should be able to sustain natural biodiversity. Therefore, a scientific model has been created to solve the problem at its root cause and all its consequences. In view of the foregoing, what is desired is simple process for removing hydrocarbon pollution in which the hydrocarbons are eliminated rather than relocated to a confinement site.